The Medic and the Scout
by Sounddrive
Summary: Pre-Series and Cannon. This will be a series of drabbles focused on Ratchet and Bumblebee, starting from their time meeting at the triage facility, landing on Earth, and beyond. Rating change because I'm paranoid.
1. 01

**Title: Baby Steps**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 411**

**Summary: A wounded Bumblebee has a conversation with Ratchet as the medic is fixing his chassis.**

* * *

Ratchet knew immediately that he wouldn't be able to fix Bumblebee's voice-box. When the medic broke the news to the yellow scout, the youngling fell into a sea of depression for several days.

From his file-Ratchet managed to get a hold of it after some digging-Bumblebee was one of the lucky survivors of the bombing of the Youngling Centers.

'Lucky' being the general term. Once the younglings were enlisted some vanished into thin air as others went to join the Decepticons. Quite frankly, Ratchet couldn't understand why, unless they were coerced into doing so. The rest were either offline in the line of duty, in a triage facility like the one he was in, or on the front lines as he worked on the young scout.

_Beep . . ._

"Yes?" Ratchet asked, gazing at the sullen scout. There was much work to be done on the young Autobot. His wings were damaged, but functional. However the rest of the young scout needed desperate repair.

Cracks as long as Ratchet's forearm crossed the scout's grill and abdomen. As Ratchet uses a welder to close said cracks, his optics traveled to the Bumblebee's legs. His legs were dented, especially in his ankle-struts. Bumblebee would need a crutch in order to get around.

"**-Uh, Ratchet . . .-"**the young scout meekly murmured. The medic paused in his work and gave him an intense look. That prompted Bumblebee to continue, **"-will I be able to walk again?-"**

Ratchet nodded curtly.

"Don't worry about your legs too much," he reassured the yellow mech. That earned him a meek smile from the youngling. "You'll just need to use a walking aid for a bit, so that your legs won't atrophy. Soon enough you'll be back on your pedes, chasing 'Cons out of our periphery and racing to meet your teammates when they come to retrieve you."

Bumblebee's smile widened just a bit before resetting itself.

"**-So . . . I just have to take sparkling steps, right? A solar cycle at a time?-"**

"Yes," Ratchet nodded, barely able to keep a smile off his face-plates.

"Just don't get injured while you're here."

The yellow mech raised an optic ridge. **"-Why?-"**

"Then young scout, since you are under my care, you'll be introduced to my famous wrench. To your helm."

The horrified look Bumblebee had on his face-plates made Ratchet's normally neutral expression quirk up into an amused smile.

'_It never gets old . . .'_

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.


	2. 02-04

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Painful Memories**

**Rating: T (mentions of Tyger Pax)**

**Word Count: 412 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee goes to Ratchet just as the medic is packing supplies for an off-site appointment.**

Bumblebee had been a joy to have around the other mechs, and occasional femme that had to keep an eye on him as he recuperated. In fact to some, Bee was a nice break to the carnage of War outside the triage facility. Ratchet couldn't be with Bumblebee _all_ the time; the medic had other patients to attend to.

However, today of all days, no one was available. Ratchet wasn't at all mad Bumblebee as the scout explained his predicament to the elder mech.

**"-I swear to Primus, I've tried everyone!-" **Bumblebee exclaimed as he stayed outside Ratchet's quarters in the facility. The elder mech packed some supplies for an important patient he had to attend to several mega-cycles away. **"-Ratchet, the guards won't let me leave my room if you go! You know I hate being cooped up!-"**

"I honestly don't know why you can't take care of yourself Bumblebee," Ratchet finally said as he looked at the scout. Bumblebee leaned on a crutch positioned just under his left arm, his optics as big as ever. "You're old enough."

**"-I keep remembering Tyger Pax if there aren't bots around me!-"** the youngling blurted. Ratchet ceased packing his tools then. The medic slowly turned to see the yellow youngling.

Bumblebee's optics were full of fear.

**"-Ratchet . . . I keep remembering,-"** he stammered. He didn't realize Ratchet guided him inside the room and shut the door behind him. **"-The pain Meg-I mean, **_**He **_**caused me . . . he kept-he kept . . . he kept hurting me, and I was begging him not to. When he ripped out my voice-box, my energon was everywhere and he started on my door-wings. I sounded so pitiful . . . I couldn't . . .-"**

"Youngling," Ratchet sighed. That makes Bumblebee stop speaking in Cybertronian short hand.

"I'll take you with me." Bumblebee perked up immediately. His wings fluttered in relief.

**"-Thank you.-"**

"Go and pack some things," Ratchet stated. He kept his tone neutral.

"My patient is stationed a little ways away from here. I'll sign the wavier for you to leave the triage facility. Meet me here in ten cycles." Bumblebee gave Ratchet a small smile. Quickly he hobbles away and wondered who Ratchet's patient was.

The only reason Ratchet would leave the triage facility was one of two reasons: a med-bay was overflowing and needed a very skilled medic, or a high ranked Autobot had been badly wounded in battle.

* * *

**Title: Dangerous Traveling**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 362 words**

**Summary: Ratchet and Bumblebee leave the triage facility in order to make a 'house call'. However, the path to get there is dangerous.**

"Ratchet, you have got to be joking."

"No, I am not."

"Where you're going? With that rambunctious youngling-"

"That 'rambunctious' youngling has a designation: Bumblebee. And in addition, I have signed a wavier so that he can accompany me to the outskirts of Iacon."

"His funeral," the guard huffed as he opened the gate.

Ratchet calmly nodded at the nervous scout behind him. Soon, Ratchet led the way. It was very dark out, and the only light being shown outside is from Cybertron's two moons/moon bases and the luminosity from the pair's optics.

:Stay close to me Bumblebee: Ratchet communicated over the comm-link. :It's dangerous out here:

:Ok: Bumblebee responded meekly.

They travel most of the way by pedes. On occasion, they had to take a path through tight alleyways-some that Ratchet can _barely_ fit through-as a Decepticon Patrol was near. About a mega-cycle into the trek, Bumblebee suggested that they go onto the roofs to avoid the 'Con ground patrols.

Ratchet gave him a skeptical look. :As much as I am open to ideas, I'm no youngling, nor a Cyber-Ninja:

:So we just keep walking?:

:Correct:

:Oi, I wish I can transform, but that'll aggravate my welds:

:And I can guarantee that I _won't_ be the one to weld you back together:

:Gee Ratchet, thanks for your support: Bumblebee said flatly.

:SHH!: Both halt in their steps, and Bumblebee saw the concentrated look Ratchet had on his face.

:What is it?:

:I thought I heard . . . never mind: Ratchet murmured over the line. :We have to keep going: They continued on their way. This time, Bumblebee heard it.

The vibrations that bounced off the alley's walls weren't just from their steps. Bumblebee's door-wings flicked to and fro. They searched . . . and they finally paused as they calculate what was going on.

Some thing, or _someone_ had followed them.

:Ratchet . . . someone's behind us: the youngling whispered fearfully.

:Are you armed?: Bumblebee nodded once.

:Short-range cannons in my wrists: he explained.

:Be ready, on my signal: Ratchet advised. Bumblebee heard the stranger behind then, who _ran_ at them.

:NOW!:

Ion blaster shots echoed into the night.

* * *

**Title: The Appointment**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 297 words**

**Summary: Ratchet takes Bumblebee along with him on the appointment.**

After they turned in the delinquent Decepticon scout, Barricade, Ratchet led Bumblebee into the Iacon Base Camp. The once proud city was run down from the time of the War.

Ratchet looked straight ahead as Bumblebee's curious gaze swept over the camp. Many Autobots were either in drills, sat around, or they practiced their accuracy with their weapons.

"Ratchet!" shouted a red and white mech running their way. Bumblebee gazed at him and noticed that he was a medic. The red and white mech has a blue visor with a face-mask on.

He is opposite of Ratchet, who spoke hurriedly. Bumblebee took off after them when Ratchet sped away.

It was that serious.

"How is he First Aid?" Ratchet asked as the slightly shorter mech ran past several troops of mechs.

"Stable," First Aid explained. He looked over his shoulder to spot the yellow scout.

"Who's your companion Ratchet?"

**"-I'm Bumblebee,-" **the scout introduced himself.

"Ah, nice to finally meet you," First Aid replied. Bee could hear the smile in his voice.

"How much further?" Ratchet inquired. His chassis had started to tire. He wasn't made for long-distance!

"Just up ahead," the visored mech pointed out. Once they slow down, Ratchet turned to Bumblebee.

"Stay put outside; I don't want you getting into trouble." Bumblebee tried not to pout, but listened to the elder mech anyway. He plunked his aft just outside of the secluded med-bay, and waited.

00000

After several mega-cycles, and with Bumblebee almost bored to tears, Ratchet and First Aid exited the med-bay.

**"-Who did you work on anyway?-"**Bumblebee whispered to the red-orange medic once he was close enough.

"He wants to meet you," First Aid quickly quipped before being shooed away by Ratchet. Bumblebee looked up expectantly at Ratchet.

**"-Who?-"**

"Optimus Prime."

* * *

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS/HANUKKAH/KWANZAA/HAPPY HOLIDAYS~! **


	3. 05-07

**A/N: Holy cow! Within a few days after the last set of drabbles, 6 reviews, 8 favorites and 11 alerts! Thanks to everyone who has read this!**

**Please R&R!**

To **Anonymous BW FG:** Wow, you're lucky to get Ratchet for a present! That _is_ a coincidence.

**HAPPY NEW YEARS~!**

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Protector**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 201 words**

**Summary: As Ratchet waits for Bumblebee as he's talking to Prime, he soon has company in the form of a walking tank.**

"Ratch'?" questioned a gruff voice. Ratchet turned around to see Prime's Weapons Specialist, Ironhide. The burly red mech had an amused expression on his face-plates.

"Don't even say it."

"Say what? That yer gettin' soft?"

"Don't start with me you old rust bucket . . ."

"Ah, c'mon Ratchet!" Ironhide chuckled. "You have a soft spot fer the lil' scout!"

"I may have to keep him at an arm's length now," Ratchet sighed. "If he gets killed out there . . . that'll be another crack on my spark."

Ironhide's cheerful expression morphed into one of empathy. "How ya gonna do that? I can see in yer optics that ya care 'bout the kid a lot."

"I tried not getting involved Ironhide, believe me," Ratchet exhaled. He didn't look at the large mech as he shuttered his optics.

"Though, I don't think my spark can delete the line of code I have." The medic slowly looked up at Ironhide once again. Ratchet's expression is neutral, but his optics glowed with adamant seriousness.

"I want to protect him . . . yet-" Ironhide stopped the medic when he placed a heavy servo on Ratchet's square shoulders.

They stood outside quietly, and waited.

* * *

**Title: New Assignment **

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 439 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee has a new assignment.**

Ratchet's patience was rewarded when Bumblebee exited the med-bay. As the door closed behind the scout, Ratchet saw that something was amiss. Bee's door-wings flapped up and down nervously, which made CLACK-CLACK-CLACK sounds.

The scout was unsure of something.

"Bumblebee?"

**"-Uh Ratchet . . .-" **Bumblebee sighed. His door-wings slowly sank down his back. Ratchet keeps his expression neutral as Bumblebee ex-vents quietly.

"Did Optimus give you an assignment?"

The yellow mech's optics cycled wide. **"-How did you-"**

"Eh! D-d-d-d," Ratchet lightly scolded. Bumblebee shook his helm. Ratchet countered as he raised an optic ridge.

"What is your assignment?"

The scout stepped past Ratchet and glanced left, right and up above. His door-wings fluttered as they try to detect if any one is within audio-receptor range. Satisfied that no one would overhear, Bumblebee went back to Ratchet and leaned in close.

**"-Do you know that Optimus thinks that the 'Cons have several energon deposits off-world?-"**

Ratchet sighed, nodding in agreement. The Decepticons had many more, though several Autobot troops have managed to take them over. That really helped with the ammo, fuel and life-forces of the Autobot members.

"Yes, yes, though it's more than that, isn't it?"

**"-I have to leave-."**

Ratchet winced and stared at Bumblebee in disbelief. At least he didn't beat around the crystal-bush.

"What?"

**"-I have to leave. Optimus says from my superiors, I'm one of the best scouts for the Autobots. He wants me to scout out energon once I'm out of the triage facility. Then, I'm gonna be . . . off-planet.-"**

Ratchet looked away from the younger mech. He didn't dare to look at him in the optics. Those optics that have seen horrors of war at such a young age. A youngling shouldn't have to endure such a burden, especially with Bumblebee's voice-box ripped away from him horribly.

Nonetheless by the very one that started the War in the first place.

Ratchet felt a gentle servo on his forearm. The medic gawked at the yellow appendage. From that limb, Ratchet's gaze swept up to Bumblebee's face. _'Primus frag it,'_ Ratchet thought as he saw the small, yet reassuring smile on the scout's face. _'Don't let this one suffer.'_

**"-I'm going to be fine Ratchet,-" **Bumblebee nodded. He released his grip on the white and red-orange arm.

"Do you need me to escort you back?" Ratchet inquired as his expression was neutral again.

**"-First Aid is taking me back; you finish fixing Prime. We need him in order to win the War.-"**

After First Aid left with Bumblebee in tow, Ratchet went back to fix Optimus.

_'Primus, keep him safe,' _Ratchet prayed.

* * *

**Title: Without A Goodbye**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 251 words**

**Summary: Ratchet finds Bumblebee's room empty.**

Ratchet sighed as he reached Bumblebee's room. Several solar cycles had passed by, and Ratchet wanted to have a visit/check-up on Bumblebee. Much to his shock however, the room has a new occupant: a femme with broken arms and legs.

Quickly, Ratchet quietly tip-toed away and pulled over one of the assistants, a Praxian. Unfortunately, the senior medic isn't sure how to start.

"Um," Ratchet mumbled. The medic shifted his gaze away as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"You're looking for the plucky, yellow scout?" the assistant grilled. He angled an optic ridge and his door-wings up in curiosity.

"He's my patient," the elder of the two grunted.

"Uh, not anymore."

"What!" Ratchet exclaimed. He took a threatening step forward. The younger mech hurriedly held up his data-pad, letting it be a pathetic shield between him and the irate medic. The assistant began to quake in terror.

"Who let him out?! He's still recovering!"

"Not on my call, I swear," the Praxian blubbered, terrified of the medic's infamous wrath. "Read the data-pad! That was the only thing left!" The terror-stricken mech practically launched the data-pad at Ratchet as he ran away as fast as his legs would let him.

Ratchet snorted indignantly and shook his helm. The medic examined the data-pad. He recognizes it as Bumblebee's own personal data-pad.

Unsure what to do with it, the medic tapped the screen. With a beep, it opened to a page.

It was Bumblebee's personal journal, and it wasn't password protected.


	4. 08-10

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

(Blank is Ratchet's thoughts/reactions to the entries on Bumblebee's data-pad)

_Time Conversions_:

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: The Entries**

**Rating: T (just in case)**

**Word Count: 1,119 words**

**Summary: Ratchet reads Bumblebee's journal entries.**

**Day 1:**

_I dunno, since I can't talk to anyone, I may as well use this pad to log in my thoughts. Designation: Bumblebee. Class: Scout._

_I feel so useless. I woke up a few cycles ago. Voice-box is ripped out . . . I hope the medic can patch it up again. I can barely move the stylus in my servo. It's not just my wrist and servo, it's_EVERYTHING. _Good Primus, I hope the medic knows how to fix me up . . . and I gotta learn his name, though he's a bit grumpy. But I saw two things in his optics._

_They're mainly of worry and pity._(Ratchet winced as he could hear the bitter tone the scout had whilst writing this.)

_I hate it when 'bots pity me. It's bad enough that I never knew my Creators-I'm a sparkling, like a majority of the younglings in the Youngling Centers . . . before they got bombed-and I got picked on for my small size _**AND **_the fact that if my door-wings were angled any higher and a bit skinnier, I'd be considered a Seeker. Primus knows, maybe _one _of them was . . . and I got shoved off the berth so many times, just so those jerks could see if the little yellow guy could 'fly'. _(Ratchet bore a deep frown at this. The poor youngling had to deal with bullies, adding to his smaller height? _'Primus, why haven't you answered his prayers?'_he thinks somberly.)

_Primus, I know I'm barely old enough to be in this War . . . but I really want to help and do my part in it! Please let my voice-box be fixable! I'm gonna hate it if I have to communicate and someone has to translate it to others!_

**Day 3:**

_Bad news . . . my voice-box is beyond repair. I won't be able to talk normally! I'm reduced to Cybertronian short hand! Slag it all . . . that's what the medic_-Ratchet, **I gotta remember that-**_is fixing me up though. He fixed my upper body a few hours ago. Door-wings feel like scrap, but what can you do? Very few mechs and femmes that have gone up against the Decepticon Lord and survived, much less tell the tale!_ (Ratchet nodded in agreement with the scout.)

_Funny thing is . . . the medic is a nice mech. I asked one of the assistants and he said that he hasn't seen Ratchet nice to a patient in a long time. Apparently, that's saying something, for the assistant has known Ratchet for quite awhile . . . and Ratchet is known for his professionalism, and stern bed-side manner._

**Day 7:**

_So much for a civil bedside manner . . . Ratchet-the-Hatchet just bashed his wrench to the mech that was in a berth right next to me._

(Ratchet's optic ridges knitted together as he momentarily looked away from the data-pad. When did he bash a mech's helm in, much less right beside Bumblebee? The medic shook his helm and continued on.)

**Day 12:**

_I'm walking around with a crutch now, to keep my weight off of my darn ankle. It shouldn't be that bad. A lot of the other patients and faculty like me. I dunno, maybe because I'm a cute one, or is it because I'm a charming youngling? I dunno, makes me wonder if I'm part Polyhexian too; they're known for their amazing and charming personalities . . ._

(Ratchet rocked his helm side to side with amusement. Jazz had to be the blame for Bumblebee's thoughts on possibly being Polyhexian. The 3rd in command visited the facility to check up on a member of his Special Ops team when the Polyhexian ran into Bumblebee. They hit it off quite well . . .)

**Day 20:**

_Going on an appointment run with Ratchet in a few minutes, I may as well bring you along with me to record what we're getting into. Ratchet is leaving the triage facility for a reason . . . must be a higher-up that has gotten hurt . . ._

0000

_I was right about the higher-up . . . but would you believe I got to meet the Prime?! OPTIMUS. PRIME. Primus, I must've had my jaw on the floor or something when Ratchet told me he wanted to speak to me! Slag, I was excited, scared, and even more excited all at once!_

_Well, anyway . . . it turns out my superiors put in a good word to the Prime about my special ability as a scout. Apparently, I'm the best out of the whole Autobot army, or so said Optimus . . ._

_Feels weird to write his name like this. Especially since he wants me to be on his team!_

_Yup, a new assignment . . ._

_Primus, but I dunno how Ratchet took it when I told him. He had a pretty blank expression. I dunno, maybe years of war and such makes a very skilled medic careful of which emotions he shows . . ._

_After I pack to leave the triage facility, I'm gonna have to use my pedes to get back to my team. I bet Cliff would like to see me again, I miss his constant talking . . . helps me try not to think on Tyger Pax . . ._

(Ratchet sighed as he placed the data-pad away from him. As he's about to shut down the pad however, he noticed that there is one last page from the scout. Curiosity getting the better of him, the medic opened up the last page.)

**To Head Medic Ratchet:**

I really dunno how to start this off . . . but I'm really glad that I've met you. You saved my life. You also became my friend.

But . . . I want to let you know you did your best, Ratchet. My voice-box was beyond repair the minute Megatron had his claws on me. I know you blame yourself for 'not being able to do more', but Primus, you did your best.

No one else could've done better.

I have to leave in a hurry. It's an all-servos-on-deck mission for my squad, and they need their scout. My team's medic cleared me and I have to head out, like right now . . .

I hope we'll meet again some day, whether in this world or the next one.

(Ratchet powered the data-pad down; it was finished. A ping on his pager alerted him that a new patient had been brought in and is critical. The medic left the lonely hall. He hurried off to save another patient.)

* * *

**Title: Another Day, Another Life Saved or Lost**

**Rating: T (just in case)**

**Word Count: 93 words**

**Summary: Ratchet's days start to run together.**

Ratchet began to lose count of how many he's lost. It's one battle after another, casualty after casualty . . . and death after death. It's a war out there. The CMO knew it all too well. However, each time a yellow armored Autobot came through, he'd have a double-take.

He'd both sigh in relief and hope each time not one of them was Bumblebee. It made Ratchet all the more determined to keep every one of his patients online and able to function, whether or not they've lost a limb or optic.

* * *

**Title: Recon**

**Rating: T (just in case)**

**Word Count: 116 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee sees something and alerts his team-mate, Cliffjumper.**

Bumblebee saw it. It had to be the place where they were keeping their target.

He waves his crimson colored comrade over. The scout points over to the ship as Cliffjumper grabbed some scanners out of his sub-space. The warrior spied through them for several cycles and then nodded.

:Let's get the bot outta there.:

:Call it in:, Bumblebee gently reminded him.

:We can wait only ten cycles more for back-up . . . those Eradicon guards we saw earlier get back on their duty in twenty, maybe less, depending on their boss's mood, whatever it is.:

:Ok, we'll wait, and then-?:

:We'll make a party out of it kid,: Cliffjumper winked at his younger companion.


	5. 11-13

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Nano-click: About 1 second (Just 'nano' means our version of 'a sec')

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Horrors**

**Rating: T (the main reason the rating changed-this little drabble)**

**Word Count: 387 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and their team storm Airachnid's ship, only to find a broken comrade.**

The Eradicon guards were easy enough to handle.

"Ready Bee?" Cliffjumper whispered eagerly.

**"-Uh-huh!-"**

:On Cliff jumper's count!: shouted their leader over everyone's comm.

"Three-" Cliffjumper whispered.

:Two-: their commander hissed.

**_"-One-."_**

**"GO! GO! GO!"**

Bumblebee and his team bombarded the ship's door and stormed in. The yellow scout slid in on his pedes and quickly dispatched two Eradicons. The youngling barely registered the energon on the floor as Cliffjumper got their target out of her magnetic cuffs.

With the thud of heavy pedes upon solid ground, Bee whipped around and helped the femme get out the door. As they staggered out, she kept _screaming_, "I couldn't save him! I couldn't save my partner!"

:Scrap . . .: Cliffjumper whispered over the comm. The young scout spares a glance up to the warrior. Cliff's expression was hard, though his voice wavered. :From the scar on her face . . .: The scout kept staring ahead as he tried not to let dread seep into his expression.

:Cliff, what is it?: To the warrior, the innocent sounding question yanked him two ways. He decided not to lie to the scout.

Letting out an exhale, Cliffjumper said honestly, :Arcee wasn't missing for _one_ orbital cycle, she was gone for more than three!: The silence between them, and the exhausted femme, stretched on for a while as they hobbled to their camp.

Suddenly, Arcee nearly dropped out of their grasp; her chassis let out a stressed whine.

"Scrap!" Cliffjumper swore under his breath. "Should've brought the stretcher!"

**"-Stay with her! I'll get it,-" **Bumblebee said quickly. He ran to his medic's area of practice, though to his dismay, the med-bay is _overflowing._

"I'm sorry Bee!" he apologized. "I can't help fix Arcee!" Nevertheless, the scout grabbed the stretcher.

"Wha-where are you going?!"

**"-No offense Doc,-" **Bumblebee shouted over his shoulder as he assisted Cliffjumper to move Arcee into the stretcher.

**"-But I know a medic that can help Arcee!-"**

"Bee, what you thinking?!" Cliffjumper questioned. "That med-bay is gonna be overflowing for mega-cycles, she needs a Doc, _now,"_ He took up the front of the stretcher as Bumblebee brought up the rear near Arcee's helm. Bumblebee glanced down and saw Arcee's troubled expression. She was out cold. Bumblebee shifted his gaze up to Cliffjumper, determined.

**"-How fast can you run?-"**

* * *

**Title: Dedication**

**Rating: T (just in case)**

**Word Count: 355 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee brings Arcee to the best medic he knows.**

Ratchet got the page from a familiar frequency, and reads the two words. _'Help us!'_

The aged medic ran as fast as his pedes would allow him. Two other assistants trail not far behind him. They ran past nurses, patients, and visitors. The three mechs all holler in rounds, "MOVE! WE HAVE A VERY CRITICAL PATIENT COMING THROUGH!"

Their frantic song carried out to the entrance, where everyone cleared out to let in a trio. Two mechs carried in a femme on a stretcher. Ratchet could barely hide his horrified expression, seeing the damaged warrior.

**"-Ratchet, please help Arcee!-" **Bumblebee pleaded, his optics constricted in fear. Ratchet directed his assistants to take the stretcher from them and hustle the femme into the med-bay.

Just as Ratchet was about to run after them, the two mechs behind him collapsed in a heap. The medic whipped back around, stunned.

Bumblebee was flat on his back, his pedes and door-wings twitched from overuse. Cliffjumper however, was flat on his grill and his face-plates met the floor. His arms were comically spread out in front of him.

"Don't tell me you _ran_ all the way here." Bumblebee has the grace to look sheepish.

"Are you-your camp is over twenty clicks-you incompetent-!" Bumblebee and Cliffjumper cringed at the medic's impending wrath. The red warrior dared himself to look up at The Hatchet. Cliffjumper had only heard of Ratchet's temper. But, seeing how the medic's arm is poised to throw a wrench that wasn't in his servo, made him very wary.

The warrior hunkered down, prepared for the worst.

Ratchet exhaled loudly as he let his servo fall to his side. He saw Bumblebee's terrified expression.

"Somebody get these two, two cubes of energon, each!" Ratchet snapped.

"I have a critical patient!" The medic then ran back toward his assistants.

Seeing that they weren't going to be punished right then, Cliffjumper happily let his face make contact to the cold, metal floor once more. It is a blessing to his taxed chassis.

**"-Count your lucky stars Cliff,-"**Bumblebee exhaled shakily in relief. Both of the mechs' chassis sagged to the floor, exhausted.

* * *

**Title: Waiting**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 467 words**

**Summary: Cliffjumper and Bumblebee are in the waiting room, awaiting the news from Ratchet about Arcee.**

Bumblebee heartily guzzled his energon cube. As soon as he's done with that one, he moved on to the last one he's allowed. As he chugged that cube down, one gulp accidentally sent the liquid down the wrong tube. Bumblebee ended up having a coughing fit with his voice-box spitting out static.

Startled, Cliffjumper looked over to him. "You gonna be all right Bee?"

**"-Y-COUGH-yeah-WHEEZE-j-just-HACK-give me a nano . . .-"** Cliffjumper reached over to pat the scout's back right between his door-wings. Eventually, the youngling calmed down from his fit.

"I ought to make sure you don't do that again kid," Cliffjumper chuckled. He nonchalantly sipped his own cube.

**"-Hey, I was hungry Cliff!-"**

"Ya didn't need to shovel it down your throat! Sheesh!"

**"-We ran twenty-some clicks to get here, ok? I burned a lot of energon, and don't you dare contradict me! You look famished!-" **Cliffjumper just raised his cube and swirled the liquid in it before taking another drink.

The door hissed open and the sound of pedes headed toward them. That alerted the pair that someone headed their way. The two comrades looked to one another, concerned.

They sat in uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. Ratchet had been in there for more than a mega-cycle . . .

The two jumped to their pedes as Ratchet entered the room. Cliffjumper diligently grabbed Bumblebee's energon and placed their cubes on a nearby table before they turned to face the medic. Bumblebee unconsciously gripped his servo on Cliffjumper's shoulder, worried.

"H-how is she?" Cliffjumper asked quietly. He felt the scout squeeze his servo onto his shoulder, waiting for the worst.

Ratchet sighed. "She'll be fine . . . physically." Cliffjumper nodded grimly. Losing a partner . . . he could emphasize with that.

**"-You really don't know what state of mind she'll be in when she wakes up, do you?-"**

Ratchet shook his helm in admittance. "Yes and no, trauma like that doesn't go away too easily. Don't take offense youngling, but you still get flashbacks, don't you?" The scout nodded and shuddered. The phantom pain of Megatron's claws that tore at his neck came in waves. Bumblebee let out a staccato string of low beeps as he wrapped his arms around himself.

The youngest of them feels the cold blanket of fear wrapping him.

"Ah, Bee," Cliffjumper murmured, his expression softening.

He pulled the youngling close for a hug. Cliffjumper let his EM field try to comfort the traumatized scout. He seated the both of them down. The warrior let Bumblebee lean against his chassis.

After awhile, Ratchet noticed that Bumblebee was about to fall in recharge. The medic quietly exited the room.

He needed to keep an eye on Arcee . . . Primus knew what horrors repeated in her mind.


	6. 14-17

**A/N: First and foremost, a heads up. For now and until the start of summer,** _**ALL**_** my active fanfictions will be updated monthly, though for this one, it may or may not be bi-monthly.**

**Now, a major time skip ahead! I really don't know how the Exodus worked out for TFP, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Apologies in advance if it seems confusing at times . . . ^^;**

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Nano-click: About 1 second

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Exodus**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 163 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee is heading among the first few ships to leave during the Exodus.**

"You sure you're going to be all right?" Cliffjumper asked as he hopped aboard the small scout ship. Bumblebee sat on the floor as he studied his star map. The yellow scout beeped in reply, anxious but excited.

**"-Slag yes!-" **Bumblebee smiled.

"Language youngling," Cliffjumper chuckled. He shook his helm at the irony. After all, most of the team they served with swore time to time. A few even did more so.

The red warrior punched the buttons and twisted dials that started up the ship.

"I'm gonna be taking you halfway . . . and I'm headin' back to Cybertron-" Cliffjumper started, but stopped when he felt the servo on his shoulder. The warrior looked over his shoulder to see Bee standing beside him, smiling.

**"-I'll be fine all by myself Cliff-."**

"I know you will be kid," Cliffjumper smiled. He quickly hugged the yellow scout.

He wouldn't know when the next time he would meet the youngling again, _if_ ever again.

* * *

**Title: The First On Earth**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 311 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee touches down on a little planet covered in water and land.**

Bumblebee was jolted awake as his stasis pod impacted on hard ground. The scout quickly gripped the sides of his small pod, door-wings folded down by habit.

Another bounce.

A jolt.

Another-

Bumblebee was thrown face-plates to the front of the tiny room he occupied when the pod abruptly halted its journey. Unabashed by his impromptu face plant, Bumblebee managed to pull himself out of the dent in the pod. He shook his helm to try to clear the spots in his vision.

It took awhile, but the plucky scout managed to punch, kick, and scratch himself out of his protective cocoon. Bumblebee climbed out of the pod, his servos meeting the planet's air first, and then-

**"-OOOH!-" **the scout exclaimed as his door-wings wriggled out of the pod. The air was nippy, he noted. He let out a frustrated whine as one of his pedes got caught on one of the catches in the pod's messy opening.

The yellow Autobot quickly flipped himself around and landed on his rear. He glared at his pede as he wiggled his leg to and fro. As he tried to get his pede free, a light that glowed under some rocks caught his optics. The youngling paused to let out an electric coo, curious.

After he jerked his leg free, Bumblebee got up and stretched. It felt good to get those darn kinks out of his back strut and limbs. Once he was done, the scout walked towards the light that glowed not too far ahead of him.

One by one, the scout hefted the rocks away. The Autobot stared at what he found, awed.

_'Looks like I'm in the right place,'_ Bumblebee thought happily. He reached out and broke off a chunk of crystallized energon.

He couldn't wait to send Optimus the news . . . but first he had to find more.

* * *

**Title: Little Blue Marble**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 212 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee manages to sync with a satellite and sees Earth from space.**

Once he obtained a vehicle mode, as to Optimus's instruction, Bumblebee had his first encounter with the local organisms as he went down a 'highway'.

They were organics. As he explored the 'world wide web', he realized that there were hundreds of languages on this planet. Back on Cybertron the sub-dialects were Praxian, Polyhexian, Vosian, Kaonian, etc. The most common dialect was Iaconian, especially during the War.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Bumblebee went to a nearby hub full of access to the satellites that hovered above the planet's atmosphere. He finds the box and gingerly unscrewed the bolts to the access panel. The scout grabbed his energon detector, doubled as a projector, and found the appropriate jack to plug into the control panel.

Once he made the connection, Bumblebee quickly looked around. Scanners indicated that no human-which he learned what the species was called-were nearby.

His scanner beeped. It was complete. Immediately, the scout pressed a few buttons and the space-perspective of the planet he was on appeared.

Bumblebee couldn't help but gape at the little blue marble. Mostly covered in water, the scanner indicated, with huge land masses and a couple chains of islands here and there.

**"-Wow, it's pretty,-" **the youngling gasped.

He was utterly mesmerized by it.

* * *

**Title: Reunion**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 313 words**

**Summary: Ratchet has a first-hand encounter with a pine forest, and a run-in from someone unexpected.**

Ratchet grumbled and cursed under his breath as he picked out some tiny, needle-like leaves from his wheels and armor. From observation, they were from the towering . . ._ thing _behind him. He didn't know what it was, and quite frankly, didn't _want _to know.

"Oh Primus, this better have been worth it," Ratchet grumbled. As he continued to grouse about his misfortunes, the medic froze as he heard the tops of the usually still, tall organisms rustle.

"Who goes there?" Ratchet questioned hotly. He shifted a servo into a blade. The medic quietly got to his pedes as he critically surveyed his surroundings.

_CRICK-CRICK-CRICK-CRICK. CRACKLE-_

_**CRACK.**_

Ratchet looked directly above him in time to see a flash of yellow. Whatever it was, it slammed into his chassis and knocked the wind out of the medic.

"GAH!" the aged Cybertronian shouted in alarm. He somehow shoved and kicked the yellow mass off of him and prepared to stab it. Just as Ratchet lunged at the thing, he saw the flash of familiar door-wings and a loud, electronic whirr.

**"-Ratchet! Ratchet! It's me! It's me!-" **Bumblebee exclaimed frantically. **"-Don't stab me!-" **The scout waved his arms around hysterically as he tried to pacify the defensive medic. Ratchet barely managed to halt himself from having the scout stabbed by his weapon. The medic lowered his weapon in disbelief as he stared at the youngling. The tip of his knife had been mere millimeters away from an essential energon line in Bumblebee's throat.

Quickly, Ratchet retracted his weapon. He reached out the offending servo and yanked the youngling to his pedes. Bumblebee gladly took it, and heartily reeled the medic into a bear hug.

**"-Glad to see you again Ratchet!-"**

As much as he didn't want to get too close to the scout, literally and figuratively, the old medic couldn't help but return the gesture.

* * *

**A/N: I actually got the trees bit from TF: Rescue Bots, the episode "Bumblebee to the Rescue". X3**


	7. 18-20

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Nano-click: About 1 second

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Fixer Upper**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 288 words**

**Summary: Luckily, Optimus has worked his diplomatic magic with the native species and the three Autobots settle into a missile silo out in Jasper, Nevada.**

"Human technology, ugh," Ratchet groaned. Currently, he has been busily reformatting the human tech to ones similar to Cybertronian much more advanced technology, but the process was slow going.

Bumblebee lied flat on his belly and looked into the floor beneath the ground level. Strangely enough, many metallic-looking bandages amassed Bumblebee's door-wings.

Without glancing away from his work, Ratchet reached a servo palm up with expecting fingers. Bumblebee chirped in confirmation with a casual two-fingered salute. The scout dug around in Ratchet's make-shift toolbox. It was a ratty, yet humongous, by human standards, plastic container that could barely hold said tools, and passed the frame welder to the medic.

"Thank you," Ratchet said curtly. Bumblebee chirped in reply. He looked up as Optimus entered through the base's new doors.

**"-They work now?-" **Bumblebee asked Optimus.

The reason?

The scout had a little snafu with them earlier that week. When Bumblebee attempted to leave the base to go on energon patrol, the doors actually _slammed_ into him. That in turn crushed the doors to his vehicle mode, his door-wings.

Poor Bumblebee tried in vain to transform and get to bipedal mode, but the doors kept pressing him. It took Ratchet and Optimus to pry to the doors apart in order for Bee to go in reverse and load himself to the medical bay.

One painful procedure later, Bumblebee was restricted form going out until his self-repair systems finished working.

"Yes," Optimus nodded politely. "Hopefully in the future, they won't . . . spontaneously shut on any of us."

"And pray, our new liaison, whomever he or she will be," Ratchet grumbled. The last thing he needed was a big, sticky red spot from where the doors crushed the human.

* * *

**Title: One Way to Get Him to Rest**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 167 words**

**Summary: Ratchet begins work on the Ground Bridge.**

Ratchet scoured his data-pads. He was glad that he brought them along for the long trip from Cybertron: they were vital in helping him reverse-engineer a Ground Bridge from human building materials. The medic knew from the moment that he lied optics on what Earth's technology was like, he knew that a Space Bridge was far too much in asking the native's very primitive materials.

"Ratchet." The medic didn't turn away from his data-pad as he replied, "Yes Optimus?"

"Do you comprehend what time it is?"

"No, but with all due respect old friend, I really must finish reading these," Ratchet insisted. The medic didn't place the data-pad down as he stood up to face Optimus.

"With all due respect old friend," Optimus countered. His gaze then shifted to something behind Ratchet. The medic turned around and saw that Bumblebee had been looking at him with a concerned expression.

"I'm not the only once concerned with your well-being."

Ratchet sighed in resignation and shut off the data-pad.

* * *

**Title: Energy Signatures**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 379 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee gets very excited when a familiar energy signature shows up.**

Bumblebee sat idly on monitor duty. He sighed as he observed Ratchet's and Optimus's energy signature on the screen.

Six months.

Six months, they have been living in this new world. Optimus, Ratchet and him were still having a hard time wrapping their processors around human technology, laws, and regulations from the human's current democratic government.

Earlier, their liaison to the outside world wasn't very patient with him in a small 'lesson' about Earth, and abruptly, and as usual, left. Bumblebee felt upset when he heard Agent Fowler grumble, "I sure didn't sign up to babysit, much less_ teach,_ aliens from another planet!"

As soon as the squishy human was gone, Bumblebee asked Ratchet, **"-Democracy . . . kind of like how Prime's are chosen, only not by Primus, right?-"** Bumblebee inquired Ratchet.

"I believe so," Ratchet mumbled. "Of course, this world has a plethora of different ways of viewing their deities, whether polytheistic or monotheistic. Not to mention how they run their own systems of government." Bumblebee nodded, though still not understanding how this alien world.

He missed Cliffjumper. When the scout first met the warrior, he was spell-bound by how much he talked. The mech's charisma was amazing and appealing to the youngling.

Of course with his speech impediment, Bumblebee was afraid that the talkative mech would shun him, like many others had. To the youngling's relief and joy, Cliffjumper had taken him under his proverbial wing. The warrior, and soon the other members of the regiment he was assigned to, taught him how to attack, counter-attack, defend himself, and perform other tactical strategies out in the field.

One of his teammates even taught the scout the basic of a fighting form that was very similar to human's version of boxing.

Before Bumblebee could reminisce any further, a power surge erupted, just a few miles away from the base. His attention snapped back to the screen, and his optics widened as he read the names that belonged to the energy signatures.

Quickly, the scout commed Optimus of the new information.

:Await for Ratchet to return to base. Bumblebee, proceed with extreme caution,: the Prime advised. :It may well be a Decepticon trap.:

:Loud and clear Optimus,: Bumblebee replied back.

The scout prayed that wouldn't be the case.

* * *

**A/N: And I am planning on a fluffy section of when Bee reunites with our favorite chatty, red warrior. :D**

**Sorry for the wait guys, but school and other business prevented me from updating frequently.**


	8. 21

**A/N: I am so sorry! The muse for this fic hasn't been too cooperative with this one! DX Goodness, forgive me for the shortness of this one, I promise it'll be longer for the next one!**

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Nano-click: About 1 second

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Some Info**

**Rating: K (warning: not my best).**

**Word Count: 237 words**

**Summary: Arcee asks Cliffjumper about the young scout that was with him when she was rescued from Airachnid's clutches. The mech is happy to oblige the information.**

"Who was the other mech that pulled me out?"

"That'd be Bumblebee. Optimus made him a scout, just before the Exodus."

"He's that good?"

"Anything else you want to know?"

"He talk as much as you?"

"Ha! Bots have a hard time talking for _that_ long. Then again, Bee was a big yellow ball of energy . . . he first came to my squad just as he was of age. Yeah, he was a chatter-box, but he was a nice kid."

"But that was before he and a few others got captured. You hear about what Megatron did?"

"Yes. Like I said he was on my team. I still hear Cybertronians talking of 'the one scout that survived Megatron's interrogation style'. Bots still talk about him from time to time . . . but the kid's been traumatized since. He can only talk in Cybertronian short hand."

"How'd he learn that?"

"A code-decoding course he took."

"There's such a thing?"

"Dunno. Bee described it as such."

"Huh . . ."

"Anyway, yeah. He wasn't exactly the same once he started to use Cybertronian Short-Hand. He got picked on from time to time."

"Oh."

**O*O*O**

"Hey, do you see that?"

"What the-yeah, looks like a local vehicle."

"'Con?"

"Hold your horsepower Arcee. I think I know that paint-job-"

**"-CLIFFJUMPER! IT'S YOU!-"**

The next thing Cliffjumper knew was that his scout friend had tackled him to the sand.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, again, my apologies for the lateness of this one.**

***NEW*A/N 2: ****I am sorry if I can't seem to update as fast as a lot of you want. RL problems have been risen to epic proportions, and I may be facing A SPLIT UP FAMILY soon, so I am trying to concentrate on preparing myself if that does come to pass! Muses shall be muses as well.**


	9. 22-23

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Nano-click: About 1 second

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Enter Bulkhead**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 427 words**

**Summary: To say the least, Bumblebee and the others have _never_ encountered an Autobot like Bulkhead.**

"Only two weeks since we came and we get another one!" Cliffjumper happily laughed as a new energy signature popped up onto the screen.

"Hmm . . . the energy signature belongs to a member of the Wreckers," Ratchet murmured. He pulled up a few stats about the known info on the mech. Arcee looked up and stared at the green mech's profile.

"Hmm," she murmured. "He's a pretty big bot . . ."

"Sweet!" Cliffjumper barked a laugh. He happily rubbed is hands together. "Another sparring buddy!"

**"-Are you getting tired of teaching and sparring with me?-" **Bumblebee asked, mocked offended.

"Wha-oh no little dude!" Cliffjumper laughed. He went over to the scout and heartily clapped a servo on his shoulder. "You know Wreckers: tough as nails!" He tugged the scout into a side-hug. "And I bet he could teach you a thing or two!"

"I worry that the mech might squash Bumblebee if he so much as accidentally sits on him," Ratchet grumbled. That statement made even Optimus give a strange look to his friend.

**"-Hey!-" **Bumblebee exclaimed. He broke out of Cliffjumper's hold and placed his servos on his hips. His door-wings were raised a bit off his back as he added, **"-I am not _that_ small! It should be Arcee he needs to worry about!-"** To emphasize his point he gesticulated to the motorcycle.

"Why are you bringing me into this?" Arcee sighed, shaking her helm.

"Well, let's go and bring him home away from home!" Cliffjumper whooped.

**O*O*O**

And because he was so huge, and not looking where he was going, the poor Wrecker ran into some power lines. The Autobots were lucky that they managed to haul out the big guy before the _entire_ human neighborhood went out of their homes to investigate _why_ the power lines were suddenly snapped apart like licorice strings.

"That must have given you quite a shock!" Cliffjumper laughed as they pulled in the twitching Wrecker. Bulkhead scowled at him, Arcee rolled her optics, and Bumblebee face-palmed.

_CLANG!_

"OW! What the scrap was that for?!" Cliffjumper yowled as he rubbed his slightly dented horn. A wrench eventually stopped clattering on the floor as Ratchet grabbed one of his many wrenches.

"That was a horrible pun," he stated. He waved them over. "Hurry it up, I haven't got all night to get him recalibrated."

"And if I wasn't twitchin' so much scrap-fer-brains," Bulkhead grumbled, albeit shakily, "I'd give you a kick in the aft!"

Bumblebee and Ratchet shared a look.

_This is going to be on interesting team._

* * *

**Title: Getting Acclimated**

**Rating: K**

**Word Count: 177 words**

**Summary: Bumblebee gives a tour of the base to Bulkhead once he's fixed.**

**"-Are you sure you're feeling all right?-" **Bumblebee asked him. **"-I mean, you did nearly get fried . . .-"**

"Yeesh, calm down kid, I'm not made of glass," Bulkhead chuckled. "Wreckers are a lot harder to break."

**"-I guess so,-" **Bumblebee responded. He turned himself around and walked backward, keeping pace with the Wrecker. **"-I heard about you guys and everything. Were the Wreckers really the team that went to Darkmount Pass?-"**

"You bet your wings on it kid," the green mech chuckled. "Too bad I wasn't there though."

Bumblebee raised an optic ridge. **"-Really? Why?-"**

Before Bulkhead could explain, a loud _BANG!_ from Ratchet's wrench hitting a certain warrior's helm broke into the air.

"OW!"

_"Remind_ me again why you wanted to spar with a Wrecker while you should. Be. Resting?!" Ratchet thundered.

"Hey! Easy on the horns Doc-OW!"

"AND WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME 'DOC'?"

"Is he always like that?" Bulkhead asked.

Bumblebee laughed. **"-You have _no_ idea.-" **The scout stuck out a servo for Bulkhead to shake. **"-Welcome to Team Prime!-"**

* * *

**A/N: Well, I still am a bit in a low point of my life, but I was happy enough to put these two *puts upwards to drabbles* and well, I hope you guys liked Bulkhead.**

**Note: I'm time-skipping to Darkness Rising in the next few, so be ready~!**


	10. 24

**A/N: Ok, to clear things up:**

**This fic isn't going to until until I manage to go through ALL THREE SEASONS of Transformers: Prime & Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters. So no worries.**

**This thing won't be done for a LOOOOOONG WHILE. :D**

**Addendum: I lost half of this drabble due to my desktop's CPU catching fire a few days ago, where a great number of my other uncompleted/completed chapters for my other fics are, so it will slow the pace of how my fics go updating, unfortunately . . .**

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: The Mystery of the Late-Night Sounds**

**Rating: K [warning: hilarity is going to ensue (I hope) so no drinking or eating: laptop/computer/mobile or whatever device will appreciate it]**

**Word Count: 834 words**

**Summary: Late in the night when rotations happens for the 'Bots to take over for night duty, there are a series of odd noises.**

_RAT-A-TAT-TAT._

_RAT-A-TATA-TAT._

_RATTA-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP._

Bumblebee couldn't help but nervously keep his optics open. The scout cringed a bit, and warily looked about. His optics shifted this way and that. The youngling had a sneaking suspicion-

"HEY BEE-!"

**"-ARGH!-" **the poor scout leapt up in alarm. He turned around and glowered at Cliffjumper.** "-DON'T DO THAT!-" **Bumblebee hissed.

The red warrior raised his servos up in surrender. "My bad, but it's my turn remember?" He blinked and added, "You all right Bee?" The aforementioned scout shuddered when the sounds started up again.

_RAT-A-TAT-TAT._

_RAT-A-TATA-TAT._

_RATTA-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP._

"What the-" Cliffjumper scanned the walls.

_RAT-A-TATA-TAT._

_RATTA-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP._

_**"-There,-"** _Bumblebee pointed in a hushed voice. Cliffjumper looked to where he pointed. It was coming from a vent just above the energon storage room. **"-What are you doing?!-" **the youngling demanded when the warrior started toward the origin of the sound.**  
**

"I'm investigating, you coming or what?" Cliffjumper stated. Exasperated, Bumblebee couldn't help but tip-toe behind the red warrior. The yellow scout warily looked this way and that, half expecting something to pop out of the shadows. The dimmed lights didn't help-

_BANG!_

**"-AAHH!-"** Bumblebee jumped up in alarm as the vent covered crashed into the floor. Cliffjumper stared at the vent right at his pedes and the duo slowly look up in time to see a shadow flit just past the opening in the ceiling.

* * *

_The next night . . ._

"I still don't believe you," Bulkhead said. The previous day the scout had woken everyone up around midnight, about _'something crawling through the upper vents'._

"Look, me and Bee definitely saw something though." Cliffjumper placed his servos on his hips. "Can't help that there's been some Decepticon activity as of late."

That much was true. Just a week ago, for the first time in a long time, the scanners of the nearly completed control center had pinged for Decepticon signals. Bumblebee had been sent to scout out the signals, and confirmed three Eradicons stomping around.

"Yeah, but Ratchet said he made a sweep of the entire base; there isn't anyway anything could have gone into this base," Bulkhead retorted. Cliffjumper mumbled something but then shrugged.

"Have a good shift Bulk, I'm heading in," Cliffjumper yawned whilst stretching his limbs. Tauntingly, he added with a spooky voice, "Don't let the night crawler geeeeet yoooooouuuuuu~. Mua-ha-ha." Bulkhead snorted and waved off the red warrior as he swaggered to his assigned quarters.

There wasn't anything in here other than Team Prime and the energon cubes and the-

_RAT-A-TAT-TAT._

_RAT-A-TATA-TAT._

_RATTA-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP._

. . . Right?

**O*O*O**

Ratchet had expected to find Arcee to be the one screaming, but then again, he couldn't imagine the two wheeler making such a high-pitched sound. To say he was flabbergasted at finding Bulkhead shrieking, hopping and flailing his arms about like a terrified femme was bare minimum.

"What in the name of Cybertron is going on here?!" Ratchet exclaimed. Behind him the others came out of their respective quarters and couldn't help but stare in amused bewilderment.

"GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!" Bulkhead begged. He continued to wildly hop from pede to pede. The Wrecker had one of his arms turned into his blaster as he rapidly glanced at his pedes.

Ratchet shook his helm as he stepped forward. "Confound it Bulkhead-"

"SCRAPLET!" Bulkhead's voice was shrill.

That sent the whole team into a flurry. The warriors and Optimus immediately got out their guns, aiming that the shadow they now saw darting between Bulkhead's pedes.

"Shoot it!" Cliffjumper shouted. After about a minute of firing at the shadow that had eluded them, Bumblebee realized something.

**"-Hold it! Stop! It's not a Scraplet! Weapons down!-"**

Optimus is the first to do so, and frowned as he saw the little creature cowering in a corner.

"What _is_ that?" Cliffjumper asked, quickly transforming his weapons back to his servos. Bumblebee got onto his stomach-plating and slowly moved to see the poor thing that shook like a leaf.

"Whatever it is, get it out!" Ratchet vehemently exhaled. He shook his helm as he walked over to the controls. Once Bee managed to get the little creature-which they would learn later was a jack rabbit-into his servos and to the front door it hopped out of the base as if Unicron were after it.

Everyone turned to Bulkhead with various expressions, disbelief and of confusion being the dominant ones.

"What?" the Wrecker asked sheepishly.

"Seriously?" Cliffjumper asked. He threw his arms up into the air. "Did you _just_ scream like a femling?"

"No . . . maybe." Bulkhead avoided looking at everyone. He frowned and stomped a pede to the ground.

"Can we talk about this later?"

* * *

**A/N: The next set shall start with Darkness Rising! See you all next month!**


	11. 25-27

_**IMPORTANT BULLETIN:**_** There is some news to report. My mom just got laid off from her job. Unfortunately, my muse has come to a GRINDING halt on everything. I hope you guys understand if I don't come up with another chapter soon.**

**Sorry for the delay my lovely readers!**

**You have no idea how hard it was for me to write the following bits. The first five minutes of TFP airing have struck me hard to the core. To this day I can barely stand to open up my DVD and just . . . WATCH.**

**I hope it's up to par. Read on!**

**(My apologies ahead of time if there are any grammatical or punctuation errors. Spelling included.)**

* * *

_Notes:_

"Blank" is speaking

_'Blank' _is a thought

**"-Blank-"** is Bumblebee speaking

_Beep _is just a sigh or a quiet sound Bumblebee makes.

:Blank: is talk via comm-links.

_Time Conversions_:

Cycle: About 1 Minute

Mega-cycle: About an Hour.

Orbital Cycle: About a Month.

Stellar Cycle: About a Year.

Vorn: 83 Years

* * *

**Title: Darkness Rising Part 1**

**Rating: T (canon character death)**

**Word Count: 518**

**Summary: With Cliffjumper gone, things will never be the same.**

It started out as a normal day for patrol. Bumblebee believed Cliffjumper could do anything and achieve whatever he knew he could do. The call to rendezvous at base came while he was in the desert. He put metal to the pedal as he zoomed back to it.

It was also the first time Ratchet was off-base in a long while. And because he wasn't at the controls, he couldn't bridge everyone to Cliffjumper in time . . .

When they arrived, all that there was of the coordinates had been blown to ashes. All five of them walked warily toward the crater.

"An untapped energon deposit . . ." Optimus murmured.

"What's left of it," Bulkhead added.

"The first Decepticon activity in three years," Ratchet stated. "That we know of." Optimus's face mask came off and he looked grim.

If they were scouting for energon . . .

Bumblebee couldn't help but shudder at the thought. He followed Arcee as they checked out the ground first. Immediately the scout heard a gasp from the femme. He directed his line of vision to where she gazed and blanched.

It was one of Cliffjumper's horns.

"Ratchet, can you track his position?" Optimus asked.

The youngling jumped at the sound of the flat-line that emanated from Ratchet's tracker. He looked at Bulkhead, and everyone had the exact same expression.

_No . . ._

**O*O*O**

Team Prime congregated at the top of their base. Bumblebee watched Arcee clutch onto Cliffjumper's horn like a lifeline. Bumblebee slumped, and he struggled to keep his door-wings aloft.

"As of today, only we _five_ Autobots remain on this Earth," Optimus stated. "We owe it to ourselves to the memory of Cybertron. To any Autobots in any galaxies seeking safe harbor, to humankind . . ." Arcee stepped forward, head slightly bowed. "And we owe it to the memory of our fallen comrade, to survive."

Ratchet glanced over at Bumblebee, and he could imagine what went through his mind. He knew Cliffjumper the longest. The medic soon turned to the two wheeler as she walked away.

"Arcee-"

"If Cliff's gone standing around here sulking won't bring him back," Arcee responded to Optimus. "So unless anyone minds, then I'll get back to protecting humankind." Everyone could hear the bitterness in her voice.

As she transformed and motored away, Ratchet walked a few steps forward and murmured, "Optimus, helping humans will only result in more tragedy."

"Your opinion is noted," the Prime acknowledged.

"-Oh Cliff . . .-" Bumblebee whispered morosely. He stepped forward and kneeled beside his comrade's horn. Bulkhead placed a servo on the youngling's shoulder. "-I hope you're all right, wherever you ended up-."

"The one thing I can be sure about Cliffjumper is this," Ratchet commented. He too looked to the last piece of the fallen warrior. "He's probably out looking for old Decepticons to have a fight with."

"-Optimus,-" the yellow mech stood up on his pedes, "-permission to follow Arcee? If the Decepticons are close by-"

"Permission granted," the elder mech nodded, and Bee was off like a shot.

* * *

**Title: Encounters with the Humans**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 664-ish**

**Summary: Title says all.**

Bumblebee drove through the highway. His scanners were on high alert for Decepticons and Arcee. The youngling hoped she didn't run into trouble.

Wait a nano-click, THERE! Bumblebee quickly shifted to the merge lane and came behind a Vehicon. He quickly slammed into the side of one, making them collide into one another.

His engine revved as he stayed on Arcee's tail. Bumblebee then noticed that it wasn't 'Sadie' that was in her seat.

:Arcee! Since when did a human-?: Bumblebee became flustered. They weren't supposed to know they existed!

:No time to explain! Keep those two off my tail!: Arcee raced away from the bogeys.

:Roger that!: Bumblebee simultaneously shifted left when the Vehicons tried to get a head of him. When they tried again, he quickly corrected himself. When one lane became two however, one sidled up to him and bumped into the scout, making him slam against the guard railing.

The Vehicons roared ahead and laughed.

_This was going to be difficult._

**O*O*O**

The scout finally got his bearings and soon found that the Vehicons and Arcee were already fighting-

In front of two humans.

_Fowler is going to have a field day,_ Bumblebee thought.

He zoomed off the overpass and transformed mid-air. He landed in front of a Vehicon and slammed his fist into his face-plates. Metal to metal contact created scores of sparks. The scout kicked the Vehicon in the chest and planted a pede onto the other's head.

As Bumblebee stepped backward, a _CRACK_ sounded from his pedes. _Huh?_ Bumblebee looked down to his pedes. He raised his right foot to see the smashed toy car.

"-Oh, I'm sorry,-" Bumblebee beeped. He didn't expect the humans to understand him, but may as well.

"No problem, really," said one. Wait, he looked-

_BANG!_

Bumblebee should've paid more attention to the Deceptions. "-ARGH!-" he yelped as he landed on his chest. As the youngling pushed himself up, a Vehicon slammed his own pede at the back of his helm.

The yellow mech flipped over and stared at the ends of two blasters.

"Leave him alone!" shouted the small human. Bumblebee looked over to him, shocked. He got a good look at the one with glasses on. The smaller human had spiked hair, small back pack . . . and practically was a sparkling!

Immediately, the two Vehicons pointed their guns at the humans. Bumblebee tried to get up, but one 'Con trained his blaster at him. The Vehicon's partner sauntered after the small natives. He kept a leisurely pace as the two ran off.

As soon as that Vehicon was gone, Bumblebee quickly knocked out the Vehicon that held him at bay. He rushed to get to the defenseless humans.

"-Keep your servos to yourself!-" Bumblebee snapped and yanked on the Vehicon's scruff bar. He quickly punched the Vehicon to the ground. Once the scout was sure the 'Con was out, he peeked into the pipe. The two natives gaped at him.

"-Hey, you two ok?-" Bumblebee asked. The older boy nodded. "Thank you," the smaller one added.

The youngling couldn't help but smile. "-You're welcome. Now, get outta here!-" Bumblebee then turned to see the Vehicon back on its feet.

"-Pick on someone your own size!-" Bumblebee growled. He soon began to swing some hits to the Vehicon. He gets the wind knocked out of him as he's punched in the back.

Oh great, two to one.

Bumblebee struggled to get up, and he's kneed in the face-plates. He's hit so hard that he landed right beside Arcee. The femme helps him up, and both take defensive stances.

_HONK. HONK. HONK!_

The two turn around to see Bulkhead finally getting to them.

"Who's ready to rumble?" the Wrecker challenged. Seeing him, the Vehicons high-tail it out of there.

_Phew,_ Bumblebee exhaled and doubled over. "What took you?" Arcee inquired.

"Traffic," Bulkhead responded. Bumblebee couldn't help but shoot him a look.

* * *

**Title: Orders**

**Rating: K+**

**Word Count: 289**

**Summary: Arcee and Bumblebee explain what happened to Optimus back on base.**

Bumblebee stood beside Arcee as she told Optimus about what happened. ". . . and the 'Cons would've been scrap metal if I hadn't been distracted by the human."

Optimus paused in his typing. "Human?" he asked.

"-There were two. Both boys,-" Bumblebee corrected.

"I guess the second one caught us in action . . . I don't know," Arcee admitted. "I was a little _busy_ at the time."

"If the Decepticons are targeting us, anyone perceived as our ally will be at a grave risk," Optimus interpreted. Bumblebee's door-wings jutted up.

"Well, that's a problem." Arcee scoffed. "But we don't know where they live."

"-Oh wait, wait, wait!-" Bumblebee exclaimed as he waved an arm. "-They're both kids by Earth terms!-"

"And how do you know this?" Optimus turned to look at the youngest of his team.

"-Optimus, if you will recall I was here for several months before the rest of Team Prime landed on Earth,-" Bumblebee reasoned. "-I got somewhat familiar with some of the human terms, or at least around these parts.-"

"He has a point," Bulkhead chimed in.

"Continue," Optimus addressed the scout.

"-I always pass by this teaching facility on my way for patrol. I _knew_ I recognized the little one!-" Bumblebee nodded. "-He hangs out by this tree when the bell rings. He stands there, waiting for someone to pick him up. Yeah! I'm pretty sure both the boys go there.-"

"Optimus, you can't be considering what I think you're considering!" Ratchet uttered in disbelief. "Bringing . . . _children_ into this war will be catastrophic."

"But letting them out in the open, where Decepticons can harm them is far worse," the Prime responded.

No one argued that point.

* * *

**A/N: However the circumstances now, I finally have a set of drabbles I am happy with! :D**


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